Having exceeded my quota for jeans, jumpers, jackets, shirts, shoes, and cardigans, I have moved on to jewellery. I seem to have a need for sterling silver rope chains in every conceivable length and width. An 18-inch chain sits right at my neck which is ideal when wearing crew neck t-shirts. A v-neck can handle 20-inch chains and there are various possible combinations with 22-inch and 24-inch chains. I got all these in varying widths from around 3MM to 6MM.
For some reason I decided I had to have a 30-inch chain which sounds simple enough but I wanted it to be thick and substantial. Trying to find exactly what I want is not easy…or cheap. Most sterling silver is quite affordable and frankly I do not understand why anyone would buy stainless steel. Chains that are in the 2 - 4MM thickness can easily be found for $60. Once you get beyond 5MM and going longer that’s a LOT more silver and prices suddenly pop up at $180 - $300 and I almost ordered an 8MM 30” chain for over $400. I decided on 7MM for $100 less and it’s ample.
Once I get into that price range I really want to be sure I have exactly what I want — this is not like buying a pair of socks. And because 30-inches is significantly longer than my next longest 24-inch chain, I selected 3 more and they will start arriving on Monday.
One is a 5MM Franco chain with rhodium coating. It will not be as shiny as the diamond cut rope chains. Another is a byzantine link 28-inch which is only 4.1MM thick, and the third is the least costly at $90 which is a basic twisted rope 4MM chain which will look similar to all the others I own. For that reason it’s probably a long-shot because I want to strive for some diversity here. I don’t really want a half dozen neck chains that all look the same except for length and width. (And why are chains sold in the US with thickness in millimetres and lengths in inches?)
One of my favourite designers is Emanuele Bicocchi in Florence, Italy, and I recently splurged on a wonderful necklace with several strands in different textures all woven together, cinched at the bottom with several ropey strands dangling beneath that. While it’s all sterling silver it is dark like charcoal. When worn with a darker shirt it is very toned down and then really pops against a white shirt.
When I started the search for a shorter 18-inch chain I was very frustrated with the lack of creativity and so many have attached pendants which I didn’t want, and don’t get me started on my aversion to crosses!
What I finally found that seemed to be exactly what I was looking for was also a Bicocchi. However, it was not on any of the sites in the US where this stuff is sold. I found it on the Bicocchi site in Italy. At almost €900 I decided to leave it. The irony is that I’m probably spending that much anyway of the backup options but at least I will likely have 3 or 4 new necklaces.
Once I decide on the 30-inch chain I should be done with neckwear for awhile. After all, it looks preposterous if I put on 2 or 3 silver chains. The most I will ever wear is two: the shorter one which sits at my neckline and then the long darker Bicocchi which is an OK contrast. My intention is not to blind anyone with excessive bling.
As if all of this isn’t enough, there’s the new obsession with bracelets. I went through a bracelet phase when I was in my 20s and I still have three or four of them, and they’re all stainless steel crap. I want something nice. And I won’t settle for a variation of the generic rope chains I have for necklaces.
Lo and behold, Bicocchi appears on the scene again! I found one in a similar style to the necklace — a woven strand of 4 dark silver ropes. I ordered this in a medium and my hope was that it wouldn’t be too loose. There were no specifics when ordering as to the actual length of the thing. Yesterday it arrived and I could barely fasten it around my wrist and I have pretty small wrists for a guy.
I started researching bracelet sizes and found a rather interesting article about men and jewellery. Apparently there are a lot of men who think any jewellery somehow compromises their masculinity! Oh, the horror! That’s fine. I seem to have no problem tossing my masculinity to the wind. In fact, I rather enjoy it. And someone needed clarification as to which wrist should a man wear a bracelet! I guess it's always good to Google these things because you might make the wrong choice and then everyone will point and laugh because you are SO GAY!
I have reordered the bracelet in a large and decided to add to that order another one made of gorgeous blue agate beads with a silver skull clasp. We’ll see how that goes. I might decide it’s not a great look for me but I want to try it on anyway. I would have preferred to not have a skull incorporated into the design but I guess that was a huge thing recently in the fashion world. At least it isn’t a string of skulls!
I have reordered the bracelet in a large and decided to add to that order another one made of gorgeous blue agate beads with a silver skull clasp. We’ll see how that goes. I might decide it’s not a great look for me but I want to try it on anyway. I would have preferred to not have a skull incorporated into the design but I guess that was a huge thing recently in the fashion world. At least it isn’t a string of skulls!
I’m not planning to load up on bracelets. I just want to have a couple of nice pieces to round out my look. I’m sure that’s what I probably said initially about shirts and shoes.
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